‘No one can stop me from closing Boracay’

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — President Duterte warned critics of  the planned shutdown of Boracay Island that nothing and no one could stop him from implementing the closure of the island to rehabilitate and eventually sustain the area as a major tourist destination. 

Duterte said that those planning on opposing or “blocking” the moves for the temporary closure of Boracay should stop their efforts or suffer the consequences of their action. 

Duterte was the guest of honor during the 16th founding anniversary of the Supreme Tribal Council for Peace and Development, Inc. held at the 3rd Infantry Battalion headquarters in Barangay Malagos, Calinan district here.

“Basta ako, determinado na ako gyud nang undangon tungod sa mga tao (I am determined to do this for the people),” he said. 

Stakeholders have raised objections against the plan to close Boracay for six months. 

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Tourism have recommended that Boracay be closed starting April 26, the peak of summer. 

The President, however, still has to make the final announcement on the shutdown of Boracay.

The inter-agency decision on the shutdown of Boracay was finalized on Thursday, after a meeting with Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores and the local government unit in the area. 

The letter recommending the closure of Boracay to foreign and local tourists for six months effective April 26 was sent to the President on Friday.

The letter-recommendation from the three agencies was coursed through Executive Secretary Salvador Midealdea. 

The President threatened to close Boracay after calling the the world-famous vacation spot a “cesspool” last February.

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